This invention relates to control pedals for use in vehicles or models of portions of vehicles and systems for mounting those control pedals to vehicles or models of vehicles. The invention relates more specifically to control pedals and control pedal mounting systems which provide for adjustment of an initial position of the control pedals relative to other components of the vehicle or the model of a portion of the vehicle. The initial position of a control pedal being the position in which the control pedal is supported when not being acted upon by a user. Such position adjustable control pedals are known. Position adjustable control pedals may be selectively supported in any of a plurality of combinations of initial positions, each of which is a unique combination of position and orientation relative to other components of the vehicle or the model of the vehicle. Conventional control pedal mounting systems generally restrict control pedals against any motion other than operational motions. Operational motions are those motions which a control pedal is intended to undergoe when a user acts on the control pedal to effect the system to which the control pedal is linked and thus control the vehicle. Often, pedal mounting systems for mounting position adjustable control pedals are configured in a manner such that, position adjustable control pedals are restricted against any motion other than operational motions in each of the plurality of combinations of position and orientation to which they can be adjusted. In fact, vehicles and models of vehicles are often configured such that the position adjustable pedals are operational when they are in each of the plurality of initial positions in which the position adjustable control pedals can be supported. Configurations of some control pedal mounting systems that are known enable positional adjustment of more position adjustable control pedals than do others. Each unique control pedal mounting system enables different numbers of directions of positional adjustment and different extents of positional adjustment of each position adjustable control pedal as compared to other configurations of control pedal mounting systems. Some control pedal mounting systems enable position adjustment of multiple pedals in multiple directions but do not allow for positional adjustment of the position adjustable control pedals relative to one another. Other control pedal mounting systems enable positional adjustment of multiple position adjustable control pedals relative to one another but only allow for positional adjustment of the position adjustable control pedals in one direction.
There are two applications in which position adjustable control pedals are particularly useful. Position adjustable control pedals are useful as operational control pedals in a vehicle. A vehicle which has position adjustable control pedals more readily lends itself to safe and comfortable use by drivers of various different physical proportions. The greater the adjustability of the control pedals of a vehicle the more likely it is that individuals of various different physical proportions will be able to comfortably and efficiently control the vehicle. The adjustability of the control pedals of a vehicle increases as the number of the control pedals of the vehicle which are position adjustable control pedals increases and as the number of directions in which the position of the position adjustable control pedals increases. Position adjustable control pedals are also useful as a tool when performing ergonomic studies to determine suitable locations for control pedals of a vehicle that is being designed. Models of a vehicle or portions of a vehicle may be built with position adjustable models of the control pedals of the vehicle. Ergonomic studies can be performed with these models by having individuals of various different proportions actuate one or more spatial arrangements of the control pedals of the model, and comment on the relative comfort and ease of operation of each of the spatial arrangements of the control pedals. Ergonomic studies to determine the relative merit of a control pedal configuration are also performed by having study participants test drive fully operational vehicles. Operational vehicles and vehicle models that are constructed with position adjustable control pedals allow study participants to operate and react to numerous different control pedal configurations which have different relative positioning of the control pedals. The use of fully operational vehicles that have position adjustable control pedals in such ergonomic studies makes it possible to have study participants operate and react to control pedal configurations of numerous different vehicles while operating only one vehicle. The effect of factors such as the configuration of other components of the vehicle and the brand of the vehicle upon the reaction of study participants to each of the control pedal configurations is therefore the same for each of the control pedal configurations. This allows for a more objective evaluation of the relative merit of each of the control pedal configurations. Use of position adjustable control pedals in vehicles and vehicle models for ergonomics studies is also far more economical and effective than providing a unique vehicle or model with control pedals which are not position adjustable for each different control pedal configuration.
As a result, an object of the present invention is to provide position adjustable control pedals with a relatively high degree of adjustability.
The present invention is a control pedal assembly that has two or more position adjustable control pedals. The position adjustable control pedals are mounted indirectly to a pedal mounting system base component. Each of the position adjustable control pedals is mounted directly to a series of slider components and reactor components that is fixedly engaged to the pedal mounting system base component. The series of slider components and reactor components that at least one of the position adjustable control pedals is mounted to is configured in a manner such that it enables adjustment of the initial position of the position adjustable control pedal in two or more directions. Each slider component of the one or more series of slider components and reactor components of the control pedal assembly is slideably engaged to a reactor component in a manner such that the two components are allowed to translate relative to one another along a respective adjustment curve only. Locking mechanisms may be engaged to each slideably engaged pair of a slider component and a reactor component. Each of the locking mechanisms may be selectively locked or unlocked to prevent or allow sliding relative movement of each slideably engaged slider component and reactor component along a respective adjustment curve. When a position adjustable control pedal is being actuated by a user it would generally be preferred that each of the locking mechanisms engaged to the series of slider components and reactor components that the respective position adjustable control pedal is mounted to be locked. This would ensure that the only relative motions that are allowed between the respective position adjustable control pedal and the pedal mounting system base component are the operational motions of the respective position adjustable control pedal.
A first position adjustable control pedal is mounted to the pedal mounting system base component through a first series of slider components and reactor components. The first position adjustable control pedal is mounted to a first slider in a manner such that the only relative motions that are allowed between the two components are the operational motions of the first position adjustable control pedal. The first slider is, in turn, slideably engaged to a first reactor component, in the manner describe above, such that relative translation between the first slider component and the first reactor component is allowed along a first adjustment curve only. A first locking mechanism may be engaged between the first slider component and the first reactor component as described above so that relative motion between the components along the first adjustment curve may be selectively allowed or prevented. A second slider component is fixedly engaged to or is the same component as the first reactor component. The second slider component is slideably engaged to a second reactor component, in the manner described above, such that relative translation between the components is only allowed along a second adjustment curve. A second locking mechanism may be engaged between the second slider component and the second reactor component as described above so that relative motion between the components along the second adjustment curve may be selectively allowed or prevented. The configuration of the first slider component, the first reactor component, the second slider component, and the second reactor component and the orientation in which all of these components are engaged to one another is such that the second adjustment curve extends in different directions than the first adjustment curve. The second reactor component is engaged directly or indirectly to the pedal mounting system base component. The construction of the engagement of the second reactor component to the pedal mounting system base component may be of many different forms. The second reactor component may be fixedly engaged to the pedal mounting system base component. The second reactor component may, in fact, be one and the same component as the pedal mounting system base component. The second reactor component may, alternatively, be engaged to the pedal mounting system base component in a manner allowing relative movement between the components. In such an instance where the second reactor component is moveably engaged to the pedal mounting system base component one or more locking mechanisms may be engaged between the two components. The locking mechanisms engaged between the second reactor component and the pedal mounting system base component would make it possible to selectively fix the position of the second reactor component relative to the pedal mounting system base component. With the control pedal assembly so configured the initial position of the first position adjustable control pedal relative to the pedal mounting system base component can be adjusted in at least two directions which are dictated by the first adjustment curve and the second adjustment curve.
As was mentioned above, a second position adjustable control pedal is included in the invention. The second position adjustable control pedal is mounted to the pedal mounting system base component through a second series of slider components and reactor components in much the same way that the first position adjustable control pedal is mounted to the pedal mounting system base component. The second position adjustable control pedal is mounted to a third slider component in a manner such that the only relative motions allowed between the two components are the operational motions of the second position adjustable control pedal. The initial position of the second position adjustable control pedal is adjustable in at least one direction relative to the pedal mounting system base component. The first series of slider components and reactor components is at least partially independent of the second series of slider components and reactor components. The third slider component is free to move along a third adjustment curve completely independent of any motions of the first slider component along the first adjustment curve. Therefore, the initial position of the first position adjustable control pedal and the initial position of the second position adjustable control pedal are adjustable relative to and independent of one another. Thus, it can be seen that the above-mentioned object of the invention, as well as others not mentioned, have been met.